Our fourth and final ECO Camp nature training session at
Booker T. Washington National Monument (BTWNM)was completed this Saturday, July
29th. The children learned
about the life cycle on the monarch butterfly including their amazing
multi-thousand mile migration from Mexico to the United States and Canada and
the danger of losing them due to milkweed depletion.
They also learned the importance of decomposers to the life
cycle of many plants and animals. Even
though we often think of decomposers like millipedes, slugs and snails as
“yucky” they provide and important function by decomposing forest detritus into
rich soil and providing food for their predators including birds and other
insects. The kids loved digging through
the soil and overturning rotting logs to find and pick up their own
“decomposers”. All decomposers were
released after this training to continue their decomposing.
We would like to thank the Blue Ridge Foothills and Lakes
Chapter of the Virginia Master Naturalists for providing the trainer and
educational material, BTWNM for providing their facilities and personnel and
the Smith Mountain Lake Association for sponsoring Environmental Education in
our community.
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| Decomposers exposed! |
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| Monarch life cycle explained |
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| Monarch migration simulation |
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